Texas A&M Kingsville Honors Bedell as Distinguished Alumnus

HOUSTON (February 3, 2015) – Mobil Steel International, Inc. President and CEO Leonard A. Bedell was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Bedell received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in accounting from Texas A&I University.

Bedell was among four alumni of Texas A&M University-Kingsville honored by the TAMUK Javelina Alumni Association. Bedell was joined by Dr. Janice Perrin, Class of 1972, Bill Walraven, Class of 1952, and Cristelia Hinojosa, Class of 2004, 2005, in the special recognition for professional achievements and exemplary service to their alma mater and their communities.

Bedell, who has been president and CEO of Mobil Steel since 2005 and is a member of the company’s board of directors, joined the Houston office of an international accounting firm after graduation from Texas A&I. His career spanned the fields of public accounting, management consulting and finance and also has included senior management positions in public and private firms in various industries. Bedell is a licensed Texas Certified Public Accountant.

Bedell is currently a member of the Texas A&M University-Kingsville College of Business Administration Dean’s Advisory Board and the Ralph Russell Distinguished Professorship Advisory Board. He serves on the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Foundation Board of Trustees, where he is treasurer and a member of the executive, audit and investment committees.

Bedell established The Bedell Family Scholarship in 2013. He is chairman of the Ralph Russell Distinguished Professorship Chair for Excellence in Accounting and Finance Fund Campaign. He also was honored in 2014 at the President’s Legacy Ball and inducted into the Legacy Society—a group of individuals, foundations and corporations who have given significantly to the vision and development of A&M Kingsville.

While a student at Texas A&I, Bedell initiated and worked to establish the Accounting Society Scholarship. Bedell, the son of the late Peter Bryce Bedell III and Katherine Dromgoole Bedell, is a native of Corpus Christi, Texas. Bedell’s mother still resides in Corpus Christi. He attended public schools in Corpus Christi, graduating from W.B. Ray High School and Del Mar College.

Bedell said he is honored to be inducted with the other distinguished members of Texas A&M University–Kingsville. “It is quite an honor to be recognized by Texas A&M University-Kingsville and humbling to be included in such a group of distinguished alumni,” said Bedell. “It is inspiring to note that each person was recognized for “paying it forward” for the generations that follow us – generously repaying the gifts and blessings we received.”

Other members of the 2014 TAMUK distinguished alumni class include:

Dr. Janice R. Perrin is an adjunct instructor at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Texas A&I University in 1972 and also holds a master’s degree from the University of Houston and an Ed.D. from Lamar University. Among her career honors, Perrin was named Fairmont Elementary Campus Teacher of the Year; Deer Park ISD Elementary Principal of the Year; and part of the San Jacinto College District Blue Ribbon Committee in 2007 and 2008.

Bill Walraven received his bachelor’s degree in English/journalism, with a minor in history, from Texas A&I University in 1952. While attending the university, he served as sports editor of the student newspaper The South Texan.

He would go on to spend nearly four decades at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, where he worked as a reporter, feature writer and columnist. Walraven served as a reporter/editor for the San Antonio Light and the San Antonio Express-News. He was owner of Javelina Press, and author of a number of history-based books and a past president of the Corpus Christi Press Club. Walraven, who died in 2013, was honored posthumously.

Cristelia “Crissy” Hinojosa, director of business intelligence for Bay Ltd. in Corpus Christi and adjunct lecturer in the College of Business Administration at TAMUK, was honored as the Rising Star for 2014.

Hinojosa earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science with honors and her master’s degree in business administration. She spent two years as a full-time lecturer in the information systems department and received the university’s Non-Tenure Track Teaching Award. Hinojosa is an advocate for math and science education to area youth and has spent much time volunteering with organizations that support women and children, including the Junior League of Corpus Christi and Spaulding for Children. In February 2014, she was named one of Corpus Christi’s Top 40 Under 40.

Texas A&M-Kingsville is South Texas’ oldest comprehensive university, offering more academic programs and degrees, providing better learning and living facilities, doing more research, awarding more scholarships and producing more successful graduates than any other college or university in the region. Texas A&M-Kingsville seeks to provide quality undergraduate and graduate programs for students of all ages through a judicious blend of liberal arts and career education programs. For information on the Distinguished Alumni, visit: www.tamuk.edu/homecoming